Sharapova cruises into Paris Open quarter-finals

Top seed Maria Sharapova emphatically booked her place in the quarter-finals of the Paris Open after defeating Daniela Hantuchova 6-0 6-1.

The four-time Grand Slam champion, who suffered a shock last 16 exit at the Australian Open to eventual runner-up Dominika Cilbulkova, needed just an hour and 10 minutes to see off Hantuchova and march into the last eight.

Sharapova, who is down at world No. 5 from No. 3 after the defeat in Australia, was only playing in her ninth match since Wimbledon last year, where a shoulder injury ruled her out of the US Open and for the rest of the 2013 campaign.